January 2012 (nr. 129)

MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN HAARLEM Church

The Anglican Church of St. Anna & St. Mary Kinderhuissingel 74, 2013 AV HAARLEM

Chaplain

when in residence: Tel: 023 547 37 60 otherwise please contact the secretary

Reader

Jaap Theunisz, Tel: 023 537 42 42 Rijksstraatweg 541-III, 2025 DE HAARLEM

Warden

Martin van Bleek, Tel: 023 542 21 33 Pieter Kiesstraat 76, 2013 BK HAARLEM

Warden

Annelies Dix-Swart, Tel: 023 529 12 06 Heemsteedse Dreef 175, 2101 KD HEEMSTEDE

Secretary

Rob Uittenbosch, Tel: 020 645 71 03 Groenhof 260, 1186 GE AMSTELVEEN e-mail: [email protected]

Organist & Choirmaster

Martin van Bleek, Tel: 023 542 21 33 Pieter Kiesstraat 76, 2013 BK HAARLEM

Lifeline Editor

Philip Whittaker, Tel: 0341 45 35 07 Schaapskamp 7, 3849 PS HIERDEN e-mail: [email protected]

Website

www.anglican-church-haarlem.nl

The Anglican Church in Haarlem (Anglican-Episcopal) is part of the NW Europe Archdeaconry within the Diocese in Europe. It seeks to serve all English speaking people in the Haarlem area. All payments, donations, general, missions, subscriptions to Lifeline (€12.50/year), please to: Bank nr 43 70 02 667, Church of England, in Haarlem, or Postbank nr 57 76 41, Church of England Haarlem indicating purpose of payment (donation, mission, Lifeline, etc.)

Chaplaincy Letter (extracts from and adaptation of the sermon preached by Canon Jake Dejonge on 6th November last)

At the beginning of the new calendar year, the time of New Year resolutions, we can do no better than take to heart the parable of the ‘wise and foolish virgins’ found in Matthew 25, 1-13. Ten girls, ten bridesmaids, five of them foolish, and five wise. This is what Jesus told us, as Matthew narrates, in his parable about the coming of the Kingdom of God, the ideal world, in which God’s will is adhered to by the whole of creation. There will be ten bridesmaids, five foolish, five wise. All ten of them had fallen asleep while waiting for the bridegroom, who took so long to show up. But suddenly they are awoken when someone shouts, ‘there he is, the bridegroom is coming. The wise girls have enough oil to keep their lamps going; the foolish, however, had not enough in reserve to fill their lamps, and the wise girls are not willing to share their oil with them. A peculiar, strange story it may seem, as an example of God’s reign of love. Pure egotism, it initially seems, on the part of the so-called wise girls; not doing the thing that the Bible is full of; sharing with others in need. However, look at what the Scriptures call ‘light and dark’, ‘wise and foolish’. In the book Ecclesiastes, the Teacher says: (2,13-14) ‘I saw that wisdom is better than folly just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in darkness; …’. And in Proverbs (6,23) we read: ‘…the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life’. These are two of the many texts which use the image of light for the directions towards good living and the command to be light for others, in the Old Testament (e.g. Isaiah 49,6; 51,4) as well as in the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 5,16; John 1,8 and 12; John 12,36). These texts spur us on to direct our lives, every day and all the days of our lives, to the Scriptures, the law and the prophets as we often say; to walk in the light of their wholesome teachings and commands, in good words and good deeds, and, incidentally, to find in doing this the joy of life. Coming back to the parable; this walking in the light, that is my lamp, my personal lamp, which I must keep burning with the oil of my own life’s choices and responsibility; that cannot be shared; nobody else can do that for me and I cannot do it for someone else. If I wait till the moment that the bridegroom appears, it will be too late to fuel my lamp. In some way you can compare life with achievement in sport. Running the marathon, climbing a mountain, or whatever. If you want to achieve something 2

you must properly prepare your body, exercise your muscles, increase your stamina. Perseverance, keeping going, trust, that is also to be cultivated. With 18 months of training, so I was told some years ago, by someone who physically looked quite a bit like me, this person had succeeded in running the marathon. That tells me about the oil of perseverance and keeping on going. But keeping on and on does also have a dark side, one may become obstinate or headstrong, and in sport, when you push too hard and too long, your muscles will go sour, they cramp up. Then you have no other choice but to stop, to rest and recuperate and to start anew. That is called using your brain. As human beings we can also go sour; and our relationships can go sour; that causes severe pain and agony. The oil has turned rancid, you might say and needs to be replaced; do that, take a realistic and responsible new decision, change the direction of your life, if necessary, like new oil. A Dutch Dominican monk (Henk Jongerius) in commenting on the Kingdom of God suggests that there is no place there for people who have no longings any more, no expectations; who feel imprisoned in the baggage of their lives; they experience no joy, they expect no joy. Five of the bridesmaids in the parable thought that they had sufficient oil, fell short and came to miss the joy of the wedding feast. It is therefore imperative to realise that you must keep adding oil and must buy oil. And the word of God is as good as any a source for the oil from which you can draw strength and direction for living. Psalm 119 (v. 105) says: ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path’. To persevere, to prepare for the coming of the bridegroom, takes time and responsible effort; you must know where to find the oil that will lubricate the choices you make in life, and the responsibility you take, towards the joy that awaits us. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise’ (Matthew 25, 1) In the book Proverbs (6, 23) we read: ‘…the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life’. Let us then try to follow that way to life, to the kingdom of heaven, with the oil of our own life’s choices and decisions and responsibility, based on the good advice of ‘the law and the prophets’, to which Jesus constantly refers and to which he adhered; and that oil will keep the lamp of my life burning till the end. Let us follow Jesus in this, and like him, open ourselves again and again to the Breath of the Eternal God, the holy Spirit who gives life and keeps us awake and alert to the will of the Almighty. Amen.

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† Mieke Warns Mieke passed away peacefully in her sleep last Saturday evening, New Year’s Eve. She had been a member of the Church for more than 60 years, and was most respected and loved by all. Our sincere sympathy goes out to her family and friends. May she rest in God’s peace and rise in glory.

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The search for a new chaplain As we wrote in the last edition of Lifeline we were waiting for the go ahead from two Diocesan committees before we could enter into negotiations with our candidate chaplain. As you know one of the questions was whether the candidate would be allowed to go from a non-stipendiary to a stipendiary appointment. Just before Christmas Archdeacon John told us that the go ahead had been given, subject to certain requirements for the appointment. On Wednesday 11 January we have a meeting with Canon Ulla Momberg (who is representing the Diocese in this appointment) to hear the requirements for the appointment and to discuss them with our candidate. After the meeting we shall be able to enter into detailed negotiations with the candidate, on work times, pension, salary, etc., with a possible appointment before Easter. Although we feel we have been waiting a long time, we are assured by our Area Dean that for Diocesan and National Church of England procedures we are actually moving forward at great speed. Please remember this meeting and the following negotiations in your prayers! If all goes according to plan our interregnum period could be over by Easter! Annelies Dix, Martin van Bleek, wardens

Lifeline subscription 2011 Enclosed with this Lifeline is an Accept Giro for your subscription. This has been kept at €10 for years, but the rising costs in postage and printing are no longer covered by the income from subscriptions. For this reason the council has decided to raise the subscription to €12,50. This does not fully cover the costs, but we do not want to increase it any more in these troubled economic times, as we feel Lifeline is also a form of outreach. Many of you use the Lifeline Accept Giro to donate an extra amount to Church Funds, for which we are very grateful! When you make any payment to the church, please do state what the amount is for: Lifeline, mission, gift, etc. Of late we have been receiving money with no clear destination, in which case this is allocated to the general Church Fund. A clear indication of the purpose helps our accountant to book the money correctly. Thank you for your help! Martin van Bleek 4

Music Matters It seems only a short while ago since I wrote for our last edition of Lifeline just before Advent! Since then, we have had our Advent Carol Service, our Christmas Bring & Buy, our Christmas Eucharist and Carol Service! Our choir, together with the Anglican Singers, has also sung a Carol Concert in our Church, we have sung carols at Middachten Castle and Carol services in Arnhem and Rheden. All these events have been well attended and much appreciated. They show that music plays an important part in our worship and wonderful messages of our Christian festivals. In particular, the combination of the 9 lessons and the congregational and choir carols is not only appreciated by the English speaking community but also by an ever increasing Dutch community. It was standing room only at our own Christmas Carol Service and the congregation sang all the carols with great enthusiasm! Both choirs did extremely well during the whole period and we are very grateful for their hard work and the effort they put into all the services and the concert, both in singing and travelling! James Pollard played for all the services and the concert, which was great! A big thank you also to Fr Mattijs Ploeger who took both our Christmas services and then officiated at the Old Catholic Christmas Mass which followed our Carol Service at 10 pm. It was good to see him wearing Fr Brian’s splendid golden chasuble for the Eucharist and cope for the Carol Service. On 8 January we will have our first Choral Eucharist of the year presided over by Fr Mattijs. Immediately after this service we will take part in Bishop Dick Schoon’s New Year’s Vespers at which our choir will also sing. You may remember that a few years ago our choir, together with friends from the European Cathedral Singers, sang a concert in aid of the restoration of the organ of the RC St. Joseph Church. This organ has now been restored and it was taken into service again last October. As a thank you all the participating choirs and organists can use the church for a concert of their own. Our concert is on Sunday 26 February at 3 pm. We will once again be joined by friends from the European Cathedral Singers and hopefully James will be able to play for us. On Saturday 31 March our choir, together with ECS members and members of the St. Boniface choir will perform Stainer’s Crucifixion at St. Boniface, Gretrystraat 39 in Antwerp in the evening. This is a fundraising concert for St. Boniface church. This lovely composition is a setting of the Easter story and is part of the preparation for Holy Week and Easter. Our choir will of course sing on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but more information about those services in the next issue of Lifeline. A very happy, healthy and musical 2012 to you all and thank you once again for your support! Martin A. van Bleek, Organist & choirmaster

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Trevor Day, approaching ordination – how seeds are sown Psalm 139 - God knows all about us from before our birth until our departure It all started 61 years ago - my twin brother Michael and I were born on 4 January 1951, he beating me by 80 mins. We were baptised in St Peter’s Church, Petersham in April that year and went regularly to church at St Andrew’s Ham Common, nearby. In the Summer of 1955, we as a family were invited to stay with friends in Newport, Pembrokeshire, but we couldn’t afford the train fare in both directions, so we walked there, stayed for three weeks and got the train back. You are starting to get the picture, an eccentric family! Later that Summer we moved to Richmond, and Mike and I started at St Luke’s C of E primary school, and this is where the story really begins. Continuing with church at St Luke’s required us to walk 1km there and back on a Sunday morning for a BCP Matins and Holy Communion and then in the afternoon to repeat the journey for Sunday School. We had already started piano lessons and music theory and could not only read music a bit but also real words. So we were taken into the choir in Oct ‘57. We earned 7/6d a quarter and 2/- for weddings. When I left that choir in 1966, weddings were half-a-crown and my quarterly take-home pay as Head Chorister was £2/17/6, a lot of money in those days! I had got to love church music and singing in the choir. When our voices broke in 1966 we moved to All Hallows, Twickenham, with Richard Lester as our Choir Master, well known as harpsichordist. When he left in 1968 we didn’t get on with the new Choir Master so we moved to Richmond Parish Church Choir, where I stayed until 1981. It was there, under the tutelage of David Chandler that I started to understand what the Psalms were all about. I had always enjoyed singing psalm chants but was not enamoured of verse after verse of drudgery. It was David who helped us understand why the Psalms were written. At the age of 18 the psalms came to life for me - the dialogue between ordinary human beings and God; all the emotions and facets of human life are expressed by the Psalmists. During that time there was also a transition from black cassocks [St Luke’s] to maroon [All Hallows], back to black [Richmond] and then soon after we joined new blue ones, just like Haarlem. At this stage in my life, I would have described myself as a Christian, but I wouldn’t have shouted loud about it. In 1974 Coby and I met and in 1977 we were married. Thomas appeared first, and in 1981 we moved to Swindon for British Telecom. We moved on the Friday, went to Christ Church, Old Town, on the Sunday, had an audition on the Monday and joined the choir [Burgundy cassocks]. Anneke came along in 1982 and Edward in 1985. In 1983 I heard about the Nijmegen 4-Day marches and did my first in 1984. I have now completed 21 and have only four more to reach my target of 25. 6

The Dutch connection was establishing itself - Coby being Dutch, the annual “stroll” in Nijmegen, and in 1996 BT asked me to work in The Netherlands. And, yes, back to blue cassocks at Haarlem, and then the Anglican Singers. On reflection, I might describe my time in Nederland as my wilderness years and the church and choir at Haarlem and Amsterdam my oasis, during those 6½ years. But it was still a wonderful time, with some really special times. And a time when, again on reflection, the seeds were sown for what was to come. In August 2004 we holidayed as a family in Kijkduin, 10 days to do nothing but sit and read. But my Ian Rankins and Robert Goddards weren’t there ... had forgotten to pack them … but my bible was, and I don’t remember packing that! So I just started reading it. First the Gospels in sequence, then Acts and Romans [that wasn’t easy]. Five days gone. I’ll read them all again. It was amazing, these stories that I’d heard, week in week out at church, suddenly came to life. Black and White two dimensional stories became three dimensional, in colour. It was wonderful. Back at church at the end of August I went to see one of our curates, Judy Ashby, who got in first and said she thought something was changing in my life and that we should talk and pray about it. Off to the North Transept we went and we talked and we prayed. It was a very special moment, and the start of a new direction for me, towards the LLM [Licensed Lay Ministry, aka Reader], first occasionally preaching and leading some services. I was accepted for LLM training and on 6 October ’07 was licensed along with 25 others at Bristol Cathedral. Cassock, Surplice and Blue preaching scarf. Success? Seemed like it, and shortly before that, BT had offered me a redundancy package that I couldn’t refuse. Life was great! How complacent one can be!! A month later, I was diagnosed with a Meningioma that had damaged my right eye optic nerves. They are called ‘lazy’ tumours and they grow out of the lining of the brain and are normally benign. But it needed treatment to stop it growing anymore …… I spoke of the Psalms; Psalm 139 has become very special to me - God knows all about us from before our birth to our departure from this world. [Editor: there follows a graphic and exciting account of events from that time to the present, which will be included in the next Lifeline – don’t miss it!] And now the final year of ordination training is fast coming to a close … just 6 months to go. Ordination will be at Bristol Cathedral on Saturday 30th June, at 3pm, followed by a party in Swindon (Wichelstowe School Hall), to which you are all most cordially invited! My curacy, first four years, will be at [rather a mouthful] “The Benefice and Parish of Highworth with Sevenhampton and Inglesham and the Parish of Hannington and in The Benefice and Parish of Broad Blunsdon”. It’s quite a rural area, part of the Swindon Deanery, and I’m looking forward to the challenge, excitement and continued learning. 7

Thank you to all of you at Haarlem for setting me off on this path. Your support during 1996-2002 was all part of this journey and one without which I couldn’t have got this far. Blessings to you all. Love, Trevor

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Women's retreat The annual women's retreat organised by St. John and St. Philip's church, will take place from Friday 10th to Saturday 11th February this year. Our speaker will be the Rev. Angela Marshall, currently Associate Honorary Minister at St James’ Collier Row with St John’s Havering-atte-Bower, Romford, Essex. Angela's husband David is the vicar! From 1992 to 2004 David and Angela served as Chaplains to St Mark’s, Versailles. They were the first appointment that Pattie Schmiegelow (ex the Hague) made after she became General Secretary of ICS. David and Angela met in the 70’s when they were training for ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. On the day when David celebrated his 20th year in ordained ministry, Angela was finally ordained priest in Canterbury Cathedral. It took the church that long to decide she was safe! Angela joined the Council (Trustees) of ICS in 2009 and was elected vice chair in November 2009. One of her main responsibilities is shortlisting and interviewing candidates for ICS nominated candidates to chaplaincies throughout Europe. We shall be meeting at a new venue - the Carmelite convent in Vogelenzang, a small village near Haarlem. Astrid Tiesema and Thea Price recently visited the convent and were very impressed by the facilities (there are even some en-suite bedrooms!). We realise that the location is not as convenient as the convent in The Hague, but the transport links are fairly straightforward, and for those who need a lift in a car, it should be possible to arrange that. We expect the cost will be not more than €60 per person, and if we fill the convent, it could possibly be less. Reservations are required by 26th January.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ Proceeds Advent Bring and Buy On Sunday 11 December we held our annual Advent tea and Bring & Buy. Thank you for all your contributions, both to the tea and to the B & B. Although buying was initially a little slow and many regulars were unable to attend, we did raise a total of 512.40 euro! This will be divided between the choir fund and the church fabrics fund. We are in need of a new red communion burse and veil as our present one is gradually falling apart and cannot be repaired. The raffle for our flower fund raised a further 117.15 euro! And the raffle at the Harvest tea raised 114.10 euros. Thank you all for your support and generosity! 8

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(with thanks to Anne Stacy)

The matrix contains the following words relating to Epiphany: ADORE AFAR BEHOLD BRING DEVOTION EAST EPIPHANY FRANKINCENSE GIFTS GOLD

GUIDE HOMAGE KING KNEEL LEADING LIGHT MAGI MANIFESTATION MYRRH

OBLATION OFFERINGS REJOICE REVERENCE SACRED SAGES STAR TREASURES WISE WORSHIP

The letters that are left spell a well-known Epiphany phrase – what is it? 9

During this interregnum period the type of service may be changed – please check the weekly service sheet or contact our secretary Rob Uittenbosch (020 6457103) to be sure.

Sunday 8 January Epiphany

14.30 Choral Eucharist Retiring collection for Mission 16.00 Old Catholic Vespers with Bishop Dick Schoon Our choir will also participate

Tuesday 10 January

10.00 Coffee morning at the home of Mrs Joan Kroon Breezichtflat 735 Keizer Wilhelmstraat 1 1975 EA IJmuiden 19.30 Meeting for the Healing group. Compline and Laying on of hands

Sunday 15 January 2nd Sunday of Epiphany

14.30 Evening Prayer and Holy Eucharist

Sunday 22 January 3rd Sunday of Epiphany

10.00 Ecumenical Service for Christian Unity in St. Bavo R.C.Cathedral, Leidsevaart Haarlem All welcome 14.30 Holy Communion (said)

Sunday 29 January Presentation of Christ in the Temple

14.30 Choral Evensong The Church Choir & The Anglican Singers

Sunday 5 February 3rd Sunday before Lent

14.30 Choral Eucharist Retiring collection for Mission

Sunday 12 February 2nd Sunday before Lent

14.30 Sung Eucharist with hymns

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Tuesday 14 February

10.00 Coffee morning at the home of Mrs Daphne van Wijk Generaal Spoorlaan 112 2025 ND Haarlem 023 5385646 19.30 Meeting for the Healing group Compline and Laying on of hands

Sunday 19 February Sunday next before Lent

14.30 Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist

Wednesday 22 February Ash Wednesday

No service

Sunday 26 February 1st Sunday of Lent

14.30 Holy Communion (said)

Sunday 4 March 2nd Sunday of Lent

14.30 Choral Eucharist Retiring collection for Mission

Puzzle corner After all those Christmas cracker puzzles you will now be in the mood for more challenges: How many different words, of three letters or more, can you make from the letters of HAPPY NEW YEAR ? (English Oxford Dictionary, and no cheating!) [clue 100 = very good, 120 = brilliant, 140 = words fail]

There will be a small prize for the highest score submitted to the Editor before 20 February (solutions preferably ‘digitally’ (Word or Excel) please!) ????

Nostradamus said that on Wednesday 2 February 2000 something would occur that had not happened since 28 August 888 – what was that? ????

Can you make 24 from the numbers 5, 5, 5, 1 (all, and only once) using only add, subtract, multiply and divide (+ - x ÷) ?

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LIFELINE MAGAZINE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH HAARLEM afzender: Schaapskamp 7, 3849 PS HIERDEN (ISSN 0920 – 6914)